Coastal Makeover for Powder Room

I’ve lived in my house for ten years and for every day of those years, I’ve thought, I really need to do something about the wallpaper in the powder room. When we bought the house, three things jumped out as needing to be changed right away: wallpaper in the upstairs main bathroom, the icky linoleum floors in the kitchen and breakfast nook and the wallpaper in the powder room. Someone obviously loved wallpaper more than I do!

The first project we undertook was to remove the hideous plaid wallpaper in the main upstairs bath. Gloria and I set out to make over that bathroom and found that removing wall paper was a tedious, messy, next to impossible task. I used one of those wallpaper scrubber things and all it did was leave tiny little holes in the dry wall. I’m still not convinced it was user error! I ended up doing a sponge treatment on the walls that looks nice, but ten years later, it’s looking a little dated. But, redoing that will have to wait.

My husband and I removed the linoleum and installed tiles in the kitchen and breakfast nook. Not an easy task, but it turned out great.

And then, there’s that powder room, still looking sad and neglected after all these years. My experience with the wallpaper in the other bathroom lingered and held me back from starting this project. But, there comes a time when outdated wallpaper and brass fixtures just have to go.

I bit the bullet and began. I had hopes that I could paint over the wallpaper. I researched it online, gathered tips and began. I taped off the molding, covered the floor and toilet in plastic. My husband removed the sink for me, giving me more space in which to work. This is a really small room. I washed the walls with TSP, used an oil based primer and thought for just a moment or two that I was going to be successful.

It was not to be! The wallpaper began peeling before I even finished priming. There was nothing left to do except remove the wallpaper. What a mess! I used soapy water and a plastic putty spreader and managed to remove the paper and the glue. This was a very tedious process.

I rewashed the walls with TSP and started over. I primed the entire area with Valspar Primer. I had them tint the primer to match the shade of green I had chosen.

Primer Coat

The walls were going to be divided into green at the top and white at the bottom, so I measured and taped off the line for that that. I was going to be installing chair rail between the two colors, so I was not too concerned with getting a perfectly sharp, crisp line. It wasn’t looking bad after the first coat.

The colors are Valspar Pale Pasture and Ultra White.

For the next phase of the project, I had to enlist the help of my husband. I can paint and decorate. I do not change the fixtures of the sink or the light. With his expertise, we changed the look from brass to brushed nickel.

I forgot to take a picture of the old fixtures while still mounted. Say good-bye to outdated brass!

I found this one at Lowe’s for only $24.98. I loved the look and the price!

This was the tired, dated brass sink fixture.

We replaced it with this brushed nickel. Again, a great price at Lowe’s.

Once those were installed we added a new hand towel holder and electrical plate covers, all in brushed nickel. We were then ready to install the chair rail.

Thanks to my son for cutting the pieces to size for me. My husband installed it using trim nails, then caulked it. I finished it off by painting it.

I found these floating shelves at Target and using Cartwheel, they cost $22.99. I added various coastal accent pieces to give the space the look I was going for.

I spray painted some shells green, added in some others and filled the small lantern I already had with them and added some rafia. I found the cute little sign that I loved at TJ Max for about $3.00.

The star fish and sea-horse were items I already has as well. They fit right in this space.

I decided to use navy blue as my accent color for the room. A little spray paint goes a long way in making a big change.

From this

To this

I spray painted two Goodwill frames navy and added burlap backing to the frame. Then I hot glued a sand dollar in place.

Here’s a before photo of the mirror and sink.

Spray paint makes a huge difference.

Tip for painting a mirror frame: The best way to spray paint a mirror is to use strips of card stock and wedge them between the frame and the mirror all the way around it. Follow that up with paper spread over the mirror. Tape that down creating a shield for the mirror and spray painting will be a breeze. Once dried, peel off an edge of tape and the entire shield will come off in one large piece.

I added a few other accents- a navy and natural straw basket for holding extra tissue rolls, bought at TJ Maxx for $5.99.

I bought this vase and basket as a set at Michaels with 50% off coupon, so it cost about $6.00 and then added ribbon, sand and shells.

The entire cost of the make over was only about $175.00. That includes all paint, supplies, chair rail, sink and light fixtures, towel hook, cover plates and decor items. It was worth every penny. It may have taken me ten years to get started, but now that it’s complete, I love it.

The dark, busy wall paper and gold accents have been replaced by a light and refreshed coastal look.

Coastal Makeover for Powder Room

Now, this room looks like it belongs with the rest of my house! I can’t believe I waited so long to do this.

I imagine we all have a few projects just waiting to be completed! Do you procrastinate or do you jump right in when you want to complete a project?

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We are Beverly & Gloria, mother and daughter, who live just across the boulevard from each other in Charleston, SC. We’re happy to have you visit us as we share easy crafts, home decor ideas, thrift store find makeovers, coastal decor, and a few recipes sprinkled in, too.

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